Nov 19, 2014

The luxuries of life

Writing for Harlequin Desire it's often my arduous *cough* duty to have to research some of the luxuries and indulgences of life and to make them seem every day to my characters--well, my heroes, usually. There's something quite appealing about a man who can provide you with everything your heart desires, even if you're equally capable of providing it yourself, don't you think?

Things, for example, like the gift David Beckham gave his wife, Victoria, for Christmas one year--a rare diamond-studded bag of which only three are made in a year. The
Silver Himalayan, as the bag is called, is made out of fine white crocodile leather and has a 3-carat diamond on the lock and, at the time, it cost a cool US$125,000.00.

Or, the beautiful Taj Mahal which was built by the Emperor Shah Jahan to celebrate his love for his
beloved (and, sadly, dead) wife Mumtaz Mahal, the Taj is mute testament to the lengths a
person will go to declare their love and devotion.

And then there was the incredibly extravagant gift giving of one of the richest men in the world, Roman Abramovich, who paid around $14
million on a bronze sculpture for his girlfriend. The sculpture is by
Swiss sculptor Alberto Giacometti and is called “Femme de Venise”. Abramovich is also reputed to have spent $60 million in a
month buying expensive pieces of art for his girlfriend. A MONTH!!! I wonder if they're still together?

For me, while extravagance is nice from time to time and certainly fun to read about, I prefer the simpler things in life. Like the gift of time, when everything is pressing down upon you, or coming home to find the chores you'd planned to do are already done. Or a gift that's incredibly thoughtful and unexpected and precious to you at the same time. Mind you, a surprise diamond or two wouldn't go astray, either, LOL!

A typical Piscean, USA Today bestselling author, Yvonne Lindsay, has always preferred her imagination to the real world. Married to her blind date hero and with two adult children, she spends her days crafting the stories of her heart and in her spare time she can be found with her nose in a book reliving the power of love, or knitting socks and daydreaming. Contact her via her website http://www.yvonnelindsay.com

16 comments:

I'm with you - the gift of time is just about the best thing. Or maybe it's that I've been conditioned not to expect gems - only kidding! I'm lucky to have a caring husband. I suppose the most extravagantly lovely thing he ever did was to book us flights from Sydney to Auckland so we could have a few days without kids to celebrate a significant anniversary. I couldn't believe it. But he does things daily that are fantastic, like just now, brewing some coffee for us both and bringing it to my desk because I'm working. Ack? I'm supposed to be working. Better go.

Ahh to be rich and wearing a $125,000 handbag...actually that would terrify me. I'd never feel comfortable carrying it!

My husband knows exactly what little luxuries I love. I have a thing about drinking nice quality tea and using a proper china teacup. When we came to Canada he arrived a month ahead of me. When I arrived he had a Royal Albert tea cup set waiting for me and a big sampler of lovelies teas so I didn't have to drink crappy tea.

I agree that it's the simpler things that mean so much. I love it when my husband cooks for me. He doesn't do it often because he hates cooking, but when he sees that I am swamped he will step up and take over the dinner for the night. I'm always very grateful.

Simple things are so lovely, Yvonne. One of the sweetest things my husband did was move cities so we could finally live in the same place (after years of a long distance romance). Thought that was pretty special.

Travelling business class is my idea of luxury and indulgence, Yvonne. Never done it but soooooo want to!The nicest thing my sweetie's done? I have to say he isn't known for his grand romantic gestures but I think sometimes they're easy, it's the showing up every day and standing by someone that can often be the hardest and my sweetie has that hands down :-)

That's fantastic, Amy. Constancy is something to value, for sure. And yes, definitely, on the business class thing. I've been lucky, thanks to my hubby, that I've been able to upgrade now and then. It's my idea of dream travel, for sure!

My idea of luxury and indulgence is 5 star hotels and room service, Yvonne. Though, I have to admit that such indulgence has been few and far between.

My DH is a real sweetheart too (there seems to be a LoveCat theme emerging there). He brings me a cup of tea in bed every morning. Can't tell you how much I appreciate that. That's worth more than all the 5 star hotels in the country.

I totally agree with you, Michelle, although I'm not so fortunate on the cup of tea front. My hubby is a shiftworker and if he brought me a cuppa when he's about to head into work or some of the hours when he gets home, I'd likely throw it at him, LOL! I guess he shows his consideration by being quiet as a mouse as he comes and goes.

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